But who knew whether he would really have much influence? Events since he took office however suggest that something is happening there. How much is the result of the sanctions is not clear. But the importance of Rouhani's election became even more obvious today.
In an exclusive interview with NBC's Ann Curry on the eve of his trip to address the United Nations, Rouhani was asked if he could say categorically that Iran would not develop nuclear weapons. To make sure she was understanding him, she asked again. His answer:
"We have never pursued or sought a nuclear bomb, and we are not going to do so. We solely are looking for peaceful nuclear technology."He also assured Curry that his government has complete authority to negotiate a nuclear deal with the United States. It is also known that he and President Obama have exchanged letters, and some are speculating that there might be a meeting of the two presidents during his trip to the U.S.
Yes, of course, the Iranians have been saying all along that they were not making a bomb, just peaceful uses for enriched uranium. But this feels different. Other more moderate things are happening there as well.
The war hawks in Congress won't like this. If President Obama gets rid of Syria's chemical weapons peacefully and works out a verifiable deal with Iran, it's going to be harder to smear Obama as weak and inept in foreign policy. So what if he lets Vladimir Putin takes some of the credit? It locks Russia into some responsibility for whether Syria complies. On top of this, we're out of Iraq and on schedule to end our combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014. What are Lindsey Graham and John McCain going to do with all their war mongering wishes? Maybe go take over Egypt?
Ralph
I just discovered that in writing this post, I had followed the article I was quoting from in reversing the Iranian president's name, which is Hassan Rouhani. I had written Rouhani Hassan.
ReplyDeleteI have made the correction in the text.